


Sherlock's Burden

by orphan_account



Category: Sherlock (TV)
Genre: Dad Holmes, Daddy Holmes - Freeform, F/M, Gen, daughterlock
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-01-27
Updated: 2015-01-27
Packaged: 2018-03-09 08:40:15
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 6
Words: 12,326
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3243314
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Serenity Holmes had never had it easy. Her dad was a drug addict and a detective - which basically meant he was almost never home. Then once they moved into a new flat and a John Watson moves in with them, everything changed. Serenity watched as her father became more human but still didn't acknowledge her. Can she and John make her dad open his eyes about his daughter?</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. A Study In Pink: Part One

**Author's Note:**

> hello there! i'm gonna be posting marathon updates for now cause i'm already seven chapters in so i hope you enjoy my marathon updates! :)

Serenity Holmes sighed as she moved about her room, rearranging the boxes of stuff that were all around her room. This being her first time moving, she didn’t know what to do first. She heard her father moving around in the kitchen, probably playing with some of his lab set. 

 

_Well if he can mess with his lab set, i’m going to play music while i unpack._ Serenity thought. She found her laptop from her backpack and plugged it in to the outlet next to her desk. She started it up and ignored all the notifications from her friends and started up her music on low. The sound of Little Mix going through her computer suddenly motivated her to keep going with her unpacking. 

 

“Turn that down!” her father shouted from the other room. 

 

“Its not even loud!” she shouted back as she put clothes into her closet. She heard her father groan from the kitchen as he got up. She heard him put his coat on and left her there, not telling her where he’s going. She sighed and she continued to unpack her clothing. Once finished, she went onto the decorative things. Going through a bin of pictures, she stumbled upon a picture of her mother, her father, and herself when she was about seven years old. All three were actually smiling, her father actually looked happy. Serenity sighed as she placed the picture on her nightstand, remembering how things were before her mother died. 

 

At the age of six, Serenity’s mother was diagnosed with Stage 3 stomach cancer. She can remember it like it was yesterday, she had to stay with their old land-lady while her father took her mother to the hospital. Her father came back later that night, but her mother didn’t. 

 

_“Daddy, why didn’t mommy come home?” six year old Serenity asked. Sherlock looked down at his daughter sympathetically. He picked her up and sat her down in his lap with a blanket around her, trying to get her to sleep._

 

_“Mommy’s not coming home for a while, she has to stay with her doctor.” he replied back to her, trying to be as good as possible. He wasn’t good with kids, but he observed  Natalia’s behaviors with her and followed what she did._

 

_“Is she sick?” she asked him._

 

_“Yes, she is. Very sick.” Sherlock said back to her. He kept rubbing her back to try to get her to fall asleep. Sherlock heard her mumble a few things before she fell straight asleep._

 

Serenity sighed as she finished up decorating with the little things she had. She grew hungry and decided to venture out of her room for a change. The rest of the flat looked just as horrible as her room did a few minutes ago. She didn’t even want to bother going through the fridge to find something to eat. She heard light footsteps going up the stairs and turned around to see their landlady, Mrs Hudson.

 

“I heard you moving around up here, i thought i would check up on you. How about you come downstairs for a cuppa and some snacks?” Mrs Hudson said to her. Serenity nodded as they walked down the stairs together silently. Serenity wasn’t much of a people person when it came to strangers, but she admired the woman’s kindness. “Here you go dear, fresh cup.” she said.

 

“Thank you, Mrs Hudson. I know you’re not our housekeeper but thank you anyways.” Serenity replied. 

 

“Oh, for you its not a problem. Just keep reminding your father that i’m not _his_ housekeeper.” she explained, bringing out a box of crackers then a bowl of dip. She quickly dug in, but stopped herself once she realized what she was doing. “I need to remind him to feed you.”

 

“Good luck.” Serenity mumbled. They heard the front door open and close as they heard footsteps going up the stairs. “Dad?” Serenity shouted. No response. 

 

“Sherlock?” Mrs Hudson asked. She sighed and both her and Mrs Hudson went up the stairs to see what was going on. 

 

“You could have at least answered us-” Serenity stopped short as she noticed her father wasn’t alone. Sherlock turned around and gave his daughter a look. She crossed her arms over her chest and gave the same look back to him. “Who’s this?” she asked.

 

“John Watson. Our new flatmate.” Sherlock said to her, taking his coat off and hanging it up.

 

“Since when do we do flatmates?” she asked. 

 

“Since I decided it. Go unpack.” he said to her. 

 

“I’m done unpacking.” Serenity explained to him. He sighed. “I’ve got something for you to do. The shopping. There’s no food in the place and i’m not stealing from Mrs Hudson every day of the week.”

 

“Just go to your room so i can talk to Doctor Watson without you being in the way.” Sherlock shouted to her. Serenity walked to her room and grabbed her phone, some money, and her keys. She put on her jacket and organized herself, walking out of her room.

 

“I’ll be back later.” she said without another word. She angrily stormed out of her house and walked to the old Starbucks that was close to her old place. Serenity opened the door slowly and smiled a little walking in. She looked in her corner and walked to her seat, sitting across from her friend. “So what did yours do?” Serenity asked her friend. 

 

“He’s started a new line of killings.” Allie sighed, taking a sip of her coffee. “Yours?” she asked.

 

“Apparently we’ve got a new flatmate.” Serenity said to her. Allie gave her a funny look as Serenity laughed. “I know, my dad with a flatmate. He barely talks to me how the hell is going to handle a damn flatmate?!” she ranted. 

 

“Your worse then me.” Allie pointed out to her.

 

“Thank you for telling me that. As if i didn’t know already.” Serenity said, taking a sip from Allie’s coffee. 

 

“Get your own damn coffee!” Allie said to her. She rolled her eyes as she ignored the text message displayed on the screen from her father. “Wanna see how many messages it takes before he sends Lestrade or your Uncle?” 

 

“You bet. Let’s get out of here.” Serenity said to her friend as they got up and left the coffee shop. The both of them walked together, arm in arm, laughing together and discussing their fathers. Both of them had fathers that could care less about them, so they become friends quickly. 

 

“Shit, my dad wants me home.” Allie said to her, looking at the message on her phone. Serenity shrugged her shoulders. 

 

“Its fine. I should probably get home too. Getting a bit hungry.” Serenity said to her friend. They hugged and Serenity walked her way back to Baker Street alone. She knew one of these days she wouldn’t get so lucky to escape unharmed, but for now she just happened to get very, very lucky. Her father had enemies and she knew that one of these days she would just get taken. Her only thought was: would he actually go for her? Serenity stepped into her flat to the smell of Chinese takeout. Hungry beyond belief, she ran up the stairs and nearly knocked her father over when she reached the kitchen. 

 

“Don’t overexcite yourself.” he said to her. 

 

“Well you don’t feed me and there’s food. Of course i’m going to be happy!” Serenity said to him. Sherlock narrowed his eyes at his 15 year old daughter as she scooped up Chinese and plopped it down onto her plate. Serenity looked up and not only noticed her father giving her a dirty look, but John Watson giving her father a look too. “I guess i’m eating in my room...”

 

“No need. I’m going out.” Sherlock said to them, getting his coat on and leaving. The second he stepped out of field of view, Serenity sighed, looking at John. 

 

“You’re in for a treat living with us.” she explained to John as she ate. 

 

“He’s already taken me to a crime scene, to spy on somebody, and i’ve met his ‘arch enemy’. Surely, it can’t get worse.” John said to her. Serenity rose her eyebrow up at ‘arch enemy’, but laughed realizing who it is. 

 

“Sorry, arch enemy. He’s so overdramatic.” she laughed. 

 

“Can you tell me something honestly?” John asked her. “I might be pushing my boundaries, but how is your relationship with your dad?” he asked her. Serenity looked at John and leaned back in her seat slightly, uneasy. “I’m sorry, forget it-”

 

“Well, if you’re going to live with us, you should know.” Serenity said to him. “I was six years old when my mom found out she had Stage 3 Stomach Cancer. After that he was mostly at the hospital keeping her company, and i would stay home and be babysat by our old landlady. She would even take me to school and make me my lunches. One day I was in school, it was our field day. They let us spend the day outside because it was the end of the year. Me and my friend Allie were playing with two other girls when the principal came over to get me. She said my dad was here to dismiss me. So i went with her and I saw my dad. His eyes were puffy around them and red, he had been crying. He brought me home and told me that my mom had died.

 

Later that night my landlady babysat me because my dad had some paperwork to fill out at the hospital. I hadn’t fallen asleep, so I sat next to her on the couch and waited for him to come home. Eventually he did, but he looked different. His eyes were bloodshot red and he acted differently. The landlady took one look at him and ran to her flat. He didn’t do much, he still picked me up and carried me to bed and everything. Thats when he started using... you know. He quit a few years ago after he almost lost me. 

 

But he hasn’t been the same with me since my mom died. He forgets about me, constantly. Since he rarely eats when one a case, he forgets to feed me and I end up stealing his wallet so i can get food. Then he grounds me.” Serenity finished, her eyes welling with tears and crying. She felt like an idiot. If her dad were there, he would be calling her an idiot. 

 

“I’m so sorry. I shouldn’t have brought it up.” John said to her, going over to the teenager to hug her. 

 

“I hate him so much, but he’s my father and he’s all i’ve got. I hate him John. I don’t want to be treated like a piece of dirt anymore.” she said to the Doctor. “I want my mom back.”

 

“I can’t bring your mom back, but I promise you, that you won’t get treated like dirt.” he replied to her. 

 

“Its late. I’m going to bed.” Serenity said to him, getting up and retreating into her room silently. John cleaned up the Chinese as she walked away. Sherlock walked back into the flat. John looked up at him.

 

“Don’t say anything.” Sherlock said to him. 

 

“Why? Just why?” John said, looking at his new flatmate. “She’s done nothing. She’s just a kid. Why not try to reach out to her?” he asked. Sherlock sat in his chair with blank expression. “I mean, all she wants is for you to actually care. She’s not asking for undivided attention, just for you to remember she exists.” John explained to him. “You’re all she’s got.”

 

“You don’t think I can’t see that? Of course I do.” Sherlock said to his flatmate. “She’s to much like her mother. Facially she looks just like her. Her mother was the only person that didn’t look at me as the freak and I lost that one person and she left me with a child that reminds me of her and that I didn’t want to have in the first place.” 

 

“One of these days, you’re going to wake up, and she’s not going to be here. She’ll either be gone or dead, and it will be your fault.” John said to him. With that, he turned around and walked up the stairs to his room, leaving Sherlock to his thoughts. 

 

In the silence, Sherlock could hear the muffled sobs of the only thing that brought light into his shitty life. But of course, the great Sherlock Holmes could never tell anybody that.


	2. Study In Pink: Part Two

Serenity’s phone alarm went off at 5:45 sharp. She groaned in her bed as she rolled over to shut it off. If there was one thing she hated, it was getting up in the morning for school. She rolled out of bed slowly but surely and trudged her way to the bathroom, still half asleep and barely aware of her surroundings. Upon arriving in the bathroom she showered and prepared herself for the day, drying her hair out then going back to her room and picking out an outfit for the day. She was making her morning tea when she heard John coming down the stairs. 

 

“What are you doing up this early?” Serenity asked John curiously. 

 

“Heard you moving and couldn’t fall back asleep. Its Monday, right?” he asked her. She nodded back to him as she prepared a small breakfast for herself. 

 

“School... lovely, he didn’t leave me any lunch money.” She said to herself. She turned to John. “I had to ask, but do you have any money I can borrow? I’ll have dad pay you back when I get home, he forgot to leave me lunch money.” John nodded as he went back upstairs to go fetch some money for the teen. Serenity sighed as she drank her tea quietly and ate her toast for breakfast. When John reappeared she took the money from him and shoved it in her pocket. “Thank you John.”

 

“Its not a problem.” John said to her.

 

“Well, I better get going.” Serenity said, picking up her backpack and slinging it over her shoulder. “Wouldn’t want to be late.” she added, walking out of the house quickly before the situation could get more awkward than what it already was. She walked down the street quietly, seeing as it was practically deserted. The only people who were out where people who were trying to go to work and others going to school. She wasn’t worried about getting taken, seeing as she lived around the block from her school. She walked in school and waited where she usually did for Allie before they walked around. Serenity and Allie were nearly inseparable, they were attached at the hip and bonded because both of their fathers were jackasses and they both had lost their mothers. 

 

“Hey.” Allie said to her happily. They smiled and walked on. The two girls talked about any events that might have happened after they parted, and when the homeroom bell rang they went to homeroom and sat in their seats next to each other. They sat in the back away from everybody, by request of the teacher who favored them but disliked the conversations they had. Naturally the girls didn’t mind that one bit, being away from everybody.

 

“Listen up everyone.” Their teacher called from the front of the room. “We have a new student. This is Chase. Please make him comfortable and welcome him. The only seat available is in the back nearest the girls, have a seat there.” Serenity shifted in her seat a little bit hearing those words and took a look up at the kid walking to the back of the room. Serenity’s heart started beating half a beat faster at the sight of him, and she wondered why she was feeling like this. 

 

She thought he was gorgeous. Chase had light brown hair that stopped just below the ear and what looked to be green eyes. She noticed his expression; he wasn’t happy to be here. Nobody is happy to be in school, but she looked deeper into his eyes and saw sadness. Serenity was able to connect the dots quickly and concluded that he had moved multiple times and was not happy with the last one because he really liked the previous place. Noticing he was getting closer to the back she averted her eyes down to her notebook on her desk. 

 

“Serenity... wake up girl.” she heard coming from in front of her. She looked up and saw her other friend, Alex, waving his hand in her face. Alex was as gay as they came, and Serenity loved him like a brother. “No sleep?”

 

“No, I did.” Serenity said to him. She quickly nodded her head towards Chase who was sitting next to her by now. Alex nodded and they high-fived. 

 

“I hate you two.” Allie said from next to Serenity. 

 

“No you don’t.” Alex said, turning back around. Serenity rolled her eyes at him. “Don’t hate ‘cause you ain’t, my friend.” he continued. Serenity half-laughed and half-snorted at his remark, causing him to turn back around. 

 

“Did you really just - Oh god Alex your so gay.” Serenity said, trying to contain her laughter.

 

“Oh my gosh, we’ve had an epiphany. Allie, guess what - I am gay. Good job Serenity!” Alex said to him. Serenity leaned over and punched him in the shoulder as now they were all laughing. “Guess who didn’t get her dad’s detective observational skills!” he continued. 

 

“Oh please, do you want me to say what happened to you last night?” Serenity asked. Alex shook his head no in fear and she laughed. “That’s what i thought. Don’t test me asshat.” She felt her phone vibrate in her pocket and looked down to a text from John. 

 

**JOHN:** Drugs bust at your place. Your father’s disappeared. I can’t find him. 

 

“Son of a bitch!” Serenity swore. 

 

“Serenity Holmes, what have I told you about swearing out loud? And I see your phone, up here, _now._ ” her teacher said. She huffed and turned it off before getting up and handing it over to the teacher. “Your father or guardian has to come and pick it up this time after school. I’ll be calling him also to tell him about your behavior.”

 

“Good luck getting a hold of him. When you do, tell him he’s an idiot.” Serenity said, turning on her heel and walking back to her seat. 

 

“What happened?” Alex asked. 

 

“Drugs bust at my place. Dad’s gone, flatmate can’t find him. Oh, and did i mention that when she calls my dad he’s going to fucking kill me?” Serenity said to them. “Why can’t he just be normal?” Serenity asked, putting her head on her desk. “I hate my life. I wish my mom was alive.” 

 

“Well, you’ve got us.” Alex said. Serenity nodded slowly and looked to the side of her. She noticed Chase staring at her sympathetically and immediately after that, she looked away.

 

****

 

Serenity walked home after her detention slowly and alone. She had received one after she kept swearing yet again and was angry, and for her phone being taken. According to the office her father had been by to pick it up and had not seemed to happy about having to come back and get it. So she took her time going home. On the street corner sitting down she noticed Chase and slowed a little seeing him. He looked up at her slowly as she sat near him, not wanting to round the corner to her place. 

 

“I hate my life too.” he said. She looked at him slowly. “From earlier. You said you hated your life. I hate mine too.” 

 

“You’ve only moved, and that why you hate yours. My dad’s an ass.” she explained. “You’ve got no reason to hate yours. I can tell just by looking at you that you’ve got a good family and almost everything you could ask for. I have a father who was addicted to drugs because my mother died of cancer who also doesn’t have a stable job to support us and has to ask my uncle for help. So yeah, who’s got the worse life?” she said to him, tears rimming her eyes. She wiped them down quickly to avoid looking stupid. Serenity felt her arm being dragged away from her, and looked to see Chase writing down his cell phone number on her arm. 

 

“When you get your phone back, text me sometime. I think we both need each other in a strange way. We both hate our lives and families. We need to stick together.” he said to her as he wrote. Chase pulled her shirt sleeve down over his number and smiled. 

 

“Thanks. It means a lot.” she said to him. She sighed as she stood up. “I should probably get going. Don’t want to make him more mad than what he already is.” she waved to him and walked around the corner, seeing Scotland Yard cars outside of her flat. She groaned as she picked up the pace a little more and walked into her flat to see Lestrade sitting in her fathers chair.

 

“What’s all this?” she asked. 

 

“Drugs bust.” Lestrade said to her. “Your fathers withholding evidence from the investigation. I’m trying to find it.” 

 

“He’s been clean, why not just issue something else instead of a drugs bust?” Serenity asked him. Lestrade was about to answer her as he looked behind her. She turned around and saw John and her father walking in. She rolled her eyes at the men and turned on her heel and went into her room, putting her backpack down on her bed. She heard footsteps coming down the hallway and turned around to see her father in the doorway. She sighed and sat on her bed as he shuffled her phone out of his pocket and walked in and handed it to her. 

 

“What? No speech, no yelling, no probation?” Serenity asked him. _Who is this guy and what the hell has he done with my father?_

 

“Not this time. You were only texting John and concerned about me. But the next time I have to stop my case because your teacher is calling about your behavior in class it will be no television, phone, or computer for a month. Do I make myself clear?” he said to her. Serenity nodded quickly. She was just about to plug her phone in when her father spoke up again. “And wash that ink off your arm.” She looked at him and almost growled as he walked away. She put Chase’s number into her phone and went into the bathroom and scrubbed the ink off her arm. Then figuring that she wouldn’t be eating anything at home, she got some money from her dad’s wallet and left. Not knowing where to go, she just kept walking. Until a cabbie pulled over and offered her a ride to the nearest Nandos. 

 

“Thank you.” she said to him. 

 

“You’re welcome sweetheart. Mind if I make a call?” he asked. Serenity shook her head and the cabbie pulled into a parking lot and pulled out a pink iPhone. Serenity looked at it oddly and watched as he dialed. “Sherlock Holmes. I was hoping you would pick up.” Serenity’s heart started beating a mile a minute. She was kidnapped by the murderer her father was chasing. “I have something, or rather someone, that belongs to you. We’re to play a bit of a game. There will be two identical pills. We’ll each take one. Except one has the potential to kill. Get here before she takes the pill and we’ll be all set.” the cabbie said to him, hanging up. Serenity tried to make a break for it, but the cabbie was actually quick and blind folded her and almost dragged her inside the building. When her blindfold was taken off her eyes, she was in a room that almost looked like a school or a community meeting center. 

 

“Serenity Holmes. The daughter of Sherlock and Aubrey Holmes. The only child.” he said to her. Serenity’s eyes started to brim with tears.

 

“What do you want with me? I haven’t done anything.” she said to him. 

 

“Exactly, you haven’t. Its really him that i’m after. You see, he won’t back off. Taking you would get him here and I knew it. Now, lets start the game.” the cabbie replied to her. He took out two bottles, both with identical pills and placed them next to each other. “Now which pill is the right pill?” he asked her. She looked at them and took one out of its bottle, examining it. Then she put it back and did the same with the other. They were exactly the same. She started to cry more, not knowing what to do and wishing that her father would show up. 

 

“Come on sweetheart. I’ll take one with you. You just have to pick which one you’re willing to take.” the cabbie said, reaching into his pocket and pulling out a gun. “This is just for some motivation.” Serenity was shaking as she put the pill to her lips, but not before somebody burst into the room and a gunshot came through the window. She screamed and dropped the pill to the ground as she jumped back. Serenity ignored the conversation between her father and the cabbie as she cried, but soon enough he went over to her and hugged her. 

 

“You’re fine Serenity. You’re okay.” her father said to her. She cried as she nodded and he kept holding her there. Sherlock was thanking God in his head that he arrived there in time, because he knew that she would have taken the pill and that she would have taken the wrong one and she wouldn’t have cared if she died or not. He couldn’t afford to lose another loved one.


	3. Study In Pink: Part Three

Serenity was sitting in the back of a parked ambulance with an orange shock blanket on. Well, she actually had about three because it was cold and she wanted more. Her father had left her alone, yet again, as he went to talk to Lestrade about who could have killed the cabbie. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw a familiar army doctor approaching the scene. She looked over at him and waved, but stopped mid-wave as she noticed his hands in the pockets of his jacket. Serenity smiled a tiny smile at him, knowing now that it was him who had shot the gun. Her father came over to her quickly. 

 

“We’re leaving.” he said to her. She shoved all the blankets off herself and followed him quickly, going under the police tape and catching up with John. Out of the corner of her eye she saw Chase from school standing on the side lines. She ditched her father and ran over to him. 

 

“What the hell are you doing here?” she asked him as she got closer to him. He chuckled at her as she walked closer.

 

“I was just walking around and I saw this going on. I wanted to just check it out. Honest.”  he said to her. Serenity examined him closely. Nobody just goes out for a walk at about 9:00 at night when its pitch black out. She looked closely and quickly, but didn’t notice anything out of the loop. He had his hands in his pockets, but he look tired now that she looked up at his face. _I bet his home life isn’t the greatest, either. I should have been less rude before._ “Okay, what’s the look?”

 

“Nobody just goes out for a walk at 9:00 at night unless they’re walking away from something. Trust me, i’ve been there.” she said to him. 

 

“Good point. Thats not what this is about though. You alright?” he asked her. Serenity nodded to him, looking around quickly for her father, now noticing him talking to John and her Uncle Mycroft. “That guy with the umbrella is my dad’s boss. He was at my house the other day. Seems like a stick-up-the-ass type.”

 

“He is. He’s my uncle. Tall one’s my dad, the short one is our flatmate.” Serenity said, turning back around to face Chase. Chase shuffled a bit and pulled out his phone, groaning softly. Serenity felt sadness hit her, knowing that he was going to have to leave soon. Then she would have to go home to her dad and deal with him in a mood. 

 

“I’ve got to run. Mom wants me back home to talk.” he said, starting to walk away.

 

“Chase?” Serenity asked. He turned around, as did her father, John, and her Uncle. She ignored them and continued on. “Don’t do anything stupid. Just call or text me.” she said to him. 

 

“Same to you. See you tomorrow morning.” Chase replied. With that he turned back around and walked on down the street. Serenity sighed as she watched him go a little more and walked back to her father and John. She ignored the look that her father gave her as she walked closer. 

 

"Can we eat yet? I'm starving." she said to them. 

 

"Who was that boy?" her father asked her. She looked up at him and saw concern and protectiveness. Something that she'd never seen in her father before today. 

 

"A friend from school. He just moved here so i'm his friend. Problem?" she asked him. It was now Sherlock's turn to look over his daughter. Her eyes were dilated, she was playing with the hem of her sweatshirt (something she always does when she's nervous) and she spoke in a bit of a hurry. Sherlock easily concluded that she was feeling romantic feelings for this boy, but even she didn't realize it yet that she was feeling them. Sherlock chuckled to himself. _Young love, such a tragedy._ Serenity just rolled her eyes at her father as John cleared his throat. 

 

“So, dinner?” John asked them. Sherlock turned to him. 

 

“Dinner’s on me.” Sherlock said to him. They started to walk away and Serenity almost jogged to keep up with them. “Do keep up Serenity.” 

 

“Excuse me for being as short as mom was.” she said to him as she started more running than jogging to catch up with her father. John noticed Sherlock uneasily shift and glance back at Serenity at the mention of her mother. Following Sherlock down a side street, Serenity inwardly groaned to herself. “Let me guess, Angelos?” 

 

“You like Angelos and he give us free meals for me helping him with that case a few years back. Why not?” Sherlock said to his daughter who was now walking next to him, with John on the other side of him. Serenity felt her phone vibrate in her pocket with a text. 

 

**CHASE:** All’s quiet at the house so far. How about with you?

 

Serenity sighed lightly as she felt her dad put his hand on her shoulder to guide her through the crowd so she could text back, and so he could also see what she was texting. Noticing this, she looked up at him and shot him a glare. Luckily they reached the building and went and took their usual seats, giving her an opportunity to text back without her father looking at her.

 

**SERENITY:** he got protective seeing me with you  & now he’s trying to be annoying and trying to read my messages. i’m not sure what to think.

 

Serenity sent the message and smiled at their waitress as she took their orders. John cleared his throat, getting the attention of the two Holmes’ who were both looking at their phones. 

 

“Serenity, have you give any thought of what you want to do with your life?” John asked her. Sherlock slightly looked up, interested in what she had to say. Serenity never exposed much to him for obvious reasons of he wasn’t to good at being a father to her. At the thought of being asked to talk about herself for once, at the thought of somebody caring, Serenity’s face lit up and she smiled. 

 

“I want to make movies.” she said happily. “I’m not sure why, the thought of bringing an idea thats written on paper to life on the screen makes me happy. Like I can express my creativity and show everybody else what i’m feeling and maybe even help people like what movies have done for me. For instance, I think I would be able to relate best to Harry Potter in a weird way because he’s lost both his parents and i’ve lost one, and now we’re both trying to make our place in the world and show people what we’re made of. Expect Harry’s magic and I’m not, and I could be talking about the books, but i’m talking about the movies. They brought the image to life, that’s what I want to do.” Serenity explained to John. Throughout the entirety of her talking, John nodded and payed close attention to what she was saying, and thought that she was oddly talented and happy that she knew what she wanted to do. 

 

“Most people your age don’t know what they want to do. They’re usually just focused on partying and all that stuff.” John said to her. 

 

“Most people my age haven’t been through what I have, and seen the reality around them.” Serenity replied back. Both John and even Sherlock felt a pang of sadness and guilt within them, although John had nothing to be guilty of, but Sherlock sure did. He had put his daughter through so much in her life and she had seen so much that she shouldn’t have because of him and his job. At one point after Aubrey had died he was debating whether or not to give Serenity up for adoption, knowing that he would not be able to raise a child and take care of her. His mother was the one that convinced him out of it, pointing out that he was capable of doing so and that Aubrey wouldn’t want her daughter with anybody else but him. 

 

The rest of the dinner was silent after that. Serenity kept talking to Chase to make sure that he was alright and talked to Allie and Alex as well. They ate quickly and walked the rest of the way back to Baker Street in silence as well, except for John occasionally trying to put in a few words to break the ice between them all. Getting back to Baker Street, Sherlock unlocked the door and Serenity was the first one up. She walked into her room and immediately turned on her laptop.

 

“You’ve got school in the morning!” her father said to her from the living room. Serenity groaned as she shut off her laptop, knowing that if she didn’t do so her father would not be happy with her. Not knowing what else to do, she changed into her pajamas and plugged her phone in on her nightstand and fell asleep.


	4. The Blind Banker: Part One

“What I don’t get why the school is taking a bunch of Year 11’s to a museum.” Allie complained as the bus slowed to a stop outside the National Antiquities Museum. Serenity rolled her eyes as she looked across from her at Chase, sitting with his newfound friend Jason. She had realized that overtime she had begun to get more and more attracted to him.

 

“Would you rather be in French?” Serenity asked her friend, turning her attention back over to her.

 

“God no.” Allie said standing up with the rest to leave.

 

“Then shut up.” Serenity commented as she did the same and exited the bus, meeting up with Alex and his new boyfriend Jerry. 

 

“What does a trip here have anything to do with world history?” Jerry asked out loud. Chase came up behind from Serenity and put his arm around her shoulders lazily. 

 

“We will be viewing the China exhibit Jerry, which is exactly what we are learning. Evans, don’t get to comfortable with Holmes.” their teacher said to them as he instructed them to follow. They called this teacher simply just Brown because he hated being called Mister. His students favored him the most, Serenity saying that it was because he treated them like human beings. Chase blushed lightly as he removed his arm from around her shoulder. “Class this is Soo Lin Yao. She will be showing us the exhibit on China today and showing us a traditional tea ceremony. Remember this.” he said, signaling to a young Chinese woman on the side of him in museum attire with a name tag. 

 

“Lovely. A test on tea.” Allie said. Serenity elbowed her in the ribs to get her to shut up, making Chase laugh from beside her. 

 

“Don’t be rude.” Serenity said to her friend. Allie huffed as they entered the exhibit.

 

“Your class will be front row to the ceremony.” Soo Lin Yao said to them. She took a rather large pinch of tea leaves from a bowl and sprinkled them into a tea pot, starting her demonstration of the ceremony. 

 

“How exactly are we to be tested on this?” Alex asked them quietly. Serenity shrugged her shoulders at him and turned her attention back to the demonstration. More of a group had gathered around them, but the teenagers still made up the majority of the group.

 

“The great artisans say the more the teapot is used, the more beautiful it becomes. The pot is seasoned by repeatedly pouring tea over the surface. The deposit left on the clay creates this beautiful patina over time. For some pots, the clay has been burnished by tea made over four hundred years ago.” she explained to them once more as she overfilled the pot with water and showed the crowd how the pot was still shinning.

 

“Something as old as a teapot can still shine and be as beautiful as if it were new after all these years.” Serenity said around her. Soo Lin smiled at her. 

 

“What is your name?” Soo Lin asked her. 

 

“Serenity Holmes. My father is a detective and a know-it-all, so I kind of just know all this stuff no one else would know.” she explained to her. 

 

“Serenity Holmes is at the top of her class, flawlessly perfect marks.” Brown said to Soo Lin. “Thank for the demonstration Miss Yao. Your all free to go look at any exhibit you would like, including the food court. Meet there in an hour.” he said to us. Upon hearing the word ‘food’, Allie took Serenity’s hand and dashed into the direction of the food court. 

 

“Maybe they’ll have Chinese food or something. Oh that would be great.” Allie said to her as they approached the food court, the rest of their friends following. 

 

“If only my dad wasn’t a shithead and gave me money,  maybe I could actually eat.” Serenity said. 

 

“What?! How is he expecting you to eat?!” Alex asked her surprisedly. Serenity shrugged her shoulders. 

 

“Lately I’ve just been asking John or our landlady if he forgets to leave money, but I can’t keep doing that and I’m not 16 yet, so I can’t get a job.” Serenity said as Chase draped an arm around her shoulder. 

 

“Chinese or Italian?” he asked her. 

 

“Umm.. Chinese.” she said, looking at him now. Upon seeing the look on his face she was able to tell what he was going to do next. “Oh no! You’re not getting me jack-” 

 

“Shut up and get in line, will you?” he asked her as he dragged her into the line with him. “Let me do a good thing for once.” he said again. 

 

“Honestly, I would have been fine.” she said to him, crossing her arms over her chest. 

 

“Quiet. Order your food.” Chase said to her. She reluctantly did so and found a seat where all of their friends joined in behind them. Serenity was quiet and kept to herself for most of the time, texting John who was informing her that her father and himself would be out for a good while on a case. She sighed as she continued to eat.

 

“Serenity, wake up.” Allie said to her in a joke. Serenity turned to her friend and gave her a dirty look. “Well you look happy.” she said back to her. 

 

“My dad and John are gonna be out for a while. Home alone.” she said to them sighing. 

 

“Then I say we walk around London and tear shit up. You’re to depressed all the time Serenity, even if your dad is a shithead, brighten up.” Alex said to her. Serenity laughed lightly at the remark as she nodded to her friends. 

 

“As long as we can stop by home and I can get some money. I know where he hides it.” Serenity said. 

 

“You’re a criminal.” Chase said to her in an effort to make her laugh a bit. Allie practically snorted at that one.

 

“If you want to see a criminal, come to my house.” she said to him. Serenity rolled her eyes at her friend as they all got back up to get back on the bus to school. “He’s getting involved in some trade business now. Its weird.” she added to Serenity once they were seated back on the bus.

 

“I stay out of my dad’s business. Absolutely no interest in it.” Serenity said to her. 

 

“Alright guys, one more minute and you’re all free. Remember to get the permission slip signed to attend the Yellow Dragon Circus on Friday night. Its for a class grade so that should be some motivation for parents to sign off on it.” Brown said to them as the bus slowed to a stop. Kids from the bus got up and walked off, Serenity and Allie meeting up with Alex and Jerry afterwards.

 

“Are Jason and Chase coming?” Allie asked them. Serenity shrugged her shoulders as they got off the bus next.

 

“Are you coming with us?” Serenity asked Chase hopefully. In that moment she could feel her attraction to him get almost amplified to the point where the entire group could probably see it.

 

“Of course, anything to not go home.” he said to her. She smiled as the group now walked down the street. Turning the corner they saw Scotland Yard cars and a taxi cab outside of an apartment complex along with an ambulance. Serenity looked closely at the people exiting the building. 

 

“Shit! Its my dad!” she cussed as she threw her hood on and grabbed the arm of whoever was closest to her and dashed across the street.

 

“What the hell?” Chase asked. Serenity blushed as she let go of his arm, the rest of the group catching up to them. 

 

“My dad gets these streaks where he’s protective, its best to avoid those situations.” Serenity said, covering  more as they now crossed the crime scene.

 

“Why exactly?” Allie asked. 

 

“Mostly when i’m with Chase-“ she stopped before she could say anything else to screw up her day. Allie and Alex almost jumped on Serenity, smirking at her as her hood fell off, exposing her to the duo across the street who now knew who she was. 

 

“Now why would he ever think that?” Allie asked, knowing the answer.

 

“Chase is a good guy.” Alex said to her, also knowing the answer. They kept harassing her constantly to the point where she just exploded. 

 

“Because he knows that I like him! Dammit, are you happy?!” she shouted, breaking away from the grip of her friends and running down the street. 

 

_Nothing can ever go my way. I always have to have someone screw it up for me or to have myself screw it up. Damn it._ Serenity cussed in her mind as she slowed at a bench and sat down on it. She looked back at the crime scene and saw the taxi cab driving away, and Chase running straight for her. _Jesus, just what I need._

 

Instead of some protest or saying anything, Chase dragged Serenity up off the bench and hugged her tightly. She hugged him back as she placed her head into his shoulder to stop herself from probably crying. 

 

“Its okay. I’m here.” he said to her softly in an effort to help calm her down. “They’re your friends, they just want to see you happy.” he said to her. 

 

“That hasn’t happened for a long time.” she said to him quietly. 

 

“Well that has to change.” he said back to her. He took her head out his shoulder and leaned down to promptly kiss Serenity on the lips for the moment. Serenity almost couldn’t believe what was happening. 

 

_This is a joke. Good things don’t happen to me. He’s delusional._ She thought as she started to instinctively kiss him back. 

 

“Well shit.” she heard from beside her. Serenity made an attempt to pull away, but Chase made sure she didn’t. “Son of a bitch, break and breathe people! The look Serenity’s dad is shooting over here is making this really awkward.” Serenity jumped back at the comment made by Jerry, Chase still holding onto her. 

 

“Yeah, i’m leaving.” Serenity said as she walked away, Chase following almost directly behind her. The group ducked into a small coffee shop, Serenity sitting down at the table that was farthest away from the window and Chase sliding in next to her. “I am going to be grounded until the day I turn 18, I can feel it.” she said to him, half joking but also half not. 

 

“Don’t overthink the situation. You’ll be fine. Besides, even if you are grounded until you turn 18, we can still text each other and sneak you out of your flat.” Chase said to her, also half joking and half not. Serenity smiled at him as their friends caught up to them finally and sat with them. 

 

“Well I for one say its about damn time you two opened your eyes.” Jason said from next to Allie. Serenity blushed deeply, hiding herself from the rest of the group by looking over at the window in front of her.  

 

“Shut up man.” Chase said to him as he put his arm around Serenity gently. “Don’t worry about anything.” he said to her. Serenity was just about to speak up when she saw a jet-black car pull up onto the side of the shop. She groaned and hit her head onto the table.

 

“That would be my ride outside of the building. I’ll talk to you guys later.” Serenity said to the group, getting up out of the booth to meet Chase, who had to move for her to get out. He put his arms around her a kissed her lips softly. 

 

“I’ll text you.” he said to her. She nodded as she was kissed once more, leaving the coffee shop and getting into her Uncle’s car. 

 

“What did he say now?” Serenity asked as she slid in. 

 

“He had a hint of aggravation in his voice, but nothing of importance to you.” Mycroft said to her, not looking up from his cell phone until he completed his sentence. “Any ideas as to why?”

 

“I was with my friends and a boy that I now date. He’s mad at me.” Serenity said to her uncle. 

 

“Chase Evans. His parents work for me. Good family but the parents have very high standards of their son. Wish for him to go to Oxford when all he wants to do is work at Radio One. They favor his sister Lilah over him because she does as they say.” Mycroft informed her. Serenity was slightly taken aback with this new information of Chase. 

 

“So basically he’s almost like me. Parents have expectations that they want you to uphold.” she said back to him. Mycroft did not comment on that statement, leaving Serenity to keep talking. “Dad has expectations of me and you know it.” 

 

“Doesn’t every parent?” Mycroft asked his niece. “We both know how your father is. I do see him though opening his eyes as you get older. He is afraid.” 

 

“Afraid of what?” Serenity asked.

 

“You leaving. He knows deep in his mind that once you finish school and go on to university and turn 18 he will never see you again. You will walk out the door and never look back at your father and he is trying to cope with that. You are the last bit of your mother he has left and when you leave he will be destroyed.” Mycroft said to her. Serenity was about to fire back at her Uncle when the car slowed to a stop outside of Baker Street. “Good luck.” her uncle said to her. She sighed and opened the car door, slamming it shut as she walked into Baker Street to find her entire living room covered with books.

 

“You were out later than usual.” Sherlock said from around a large case of books. 

 

“I do have friends.” Serenity said as she took her jacket off and pulled out the permission slip. “You need to sign this. Its for a grade.” she added. 

 

“Do you kiss all of your friends?” he asked her as he signed the sheet of paper.

 

“No, just my boyfriend. Thanks for the concern.” she said as she turned on her heel to leave, but Sherlock grabbing her before she could. 

 

“Since when do you have a _boyfriend_?” Sherlock said, putting emphasis on the word as he spat it out disgustingly. 

 

“Since I decided that I like _Chase_ and that he actually likes me back. Are we done here?” She explained to her father. He let go of her arm, allowing Serenity to go into her room and shut the door. She got her phone out and texted her uncle:

 

_You were right. He is afraid._


	5. The Blind Banker: Part Two

Serenity sat in her room while her father paced around the living room talking to himself, waiting for John to get back. She was waiting for Allie to text her that she was there to bring her to that Chinese Circus. Serenity put a bit of extra effort into her appearance tonight to look nice, specifically because of Chase. She’d been doing that all week, but specifically tonight because they’ll be together all night long.

 

“Serenity!” her father called. Serenity sighed as she got up with her bag and walked to the living room to see her father. “I’ll be out all night tonight, i’ll leave money if you need anything…” Sherlock paused as he turned to his daughter and saw her dressed up, ready to go out herself. “Since when are you going out?” he asked.

 

“Since i’m going on a field trip. You signed the paper, remember?” she asked him. 

 

“No, I don’t.” Sherlock said, turning back to his things as Serenity went over and waited by the window. “You’re awfully dressed up for a field trip.” he added, not looking up from his work.

 

“So what?” she asked. Sherlock then sighed as a car horn beeped outside of the flat. “That’s me. See you later.” she added, getting up and taking off down the stairs to avoid further conversation. Serenity dashed into Allie’s car quickly. 

 

“Well your in a rush for nothing. And awfully dressed up.” Allie said to her. Serenity groaned, almost hitting her head against the dash. “What did i say?”

 

“My dad was just quizzing me about the dressed up thing. I’m still annoyed about it.” Serenity said to her. Allie laughed as she drove to the circus. “Plus, I can’t go out with my boyfriend looking like crap.” 

 

“I was assuming it was for him, but I wasn’t going to say anything until you admitted it.” she said back to Serenity. Serenity gave her a pointed look as they pulled up to the circus, already seeing some of their classmates with their teacher. “Well lets get this over with.” she said. Serenity and Allie both exited the car, walking over to their class. Alex and Jerry were the first two out of their group there at the moment, but she could see Jason getting dropped off. 

 

“Someone’s trying to get some tonight.” Alex said as Serenity approached. 

 

“Will you people leave me alone?!” Serenity groaned to them, causing Allie and Alex to both laugh. 

 

“Well you sure as hell look great. You might get some if Chase can’t control himself.” Alex said back to her. 

 

“If he can even show up. Just texted me, his parents got into a major fight with him and he doesn’t know if they’ll bring him here or not.” Jason said, approaching the group with his phone in his hand. Serenity huffed.

 

“Lovely of him to tell me.” Serenity said to them all. Just then, a black government looking car pulled up to the side of the road and paused. “Uncle Mycroft?! Is this you? Because if it is and you want to know what’s up with Dad i have _no idea_ what the hell he’s up to!” The window rolled down to actually reveal her uncle in the passenger’s side.

 

“For once, I am not spying on you. But I am trying to get a glimpse of your father. He’s coming here tonight, just reserved three tickets.” Serenity groaned at her uncle’s words. “And dropping off Chase here. His father was so kind enough to give me a lift here.” Sure enough, Chase came out from the back door and joined the group, jaw slightly dropping upon the sight of Serenity.

 

“Well, I can’t help you with Dad. Zero idea as to what he’s up to. Poor John.” she said, stepping back from the car and walking a ways away from it, hoping her uncle would get the hint and drive away. He gave her a cross look but drove away eventually. 

 

“That was fun.” Chase said sarcastically. Serenity turned to him and smiled. “You look fantastic. More fantastic than usual. I’m flattered.” he said. She rolled her eyes at him as he brought her into his embrace and kissed her quickly on the lips. 

 

“You two are so gross it makes me sick. And that’s coming from the gay kid.” Alex said. Serenity laughed as Chase kept her strongly in his embrace. The group made conversation amongst themselves until it was time for them to go in and claim their spots, in which Serenity and Chase were still stuck like glue to one another. The group managed to get in line near the front. 

 

“Can you two try not to make me throw up?” Jason asked them from behind. 

 

“Don’t look then.” Chase said to him, making the rest of them laughter and their teacher yell at them to shut up. “You’re tense.” he whispered to Serenity.

 

“No i’m not.” 

 

“Yes you are. You’re worried about your father and what he’ll be like when he gets here.”  he said to her. Serenity was quiet and sighed slowly. “Don’t worry about it.” he added, kissing her cheek softly. 

 

“Gag me.” Allie said. 

 

“Shut up.” Serenity said, a bit louder than what she should have.

 

“Holmes!” her teacher, Brown, said to her. She could have sworn she had seen the faces of some of the acts turn to look when he said her name, but that could just be because they recognize her father’s name.

 

“Sorry Brown.” she said to him. Serenity was silent as more and more people filled the room, her father, John, and some woman the last ones in. The lights went dimmer and the performance began with someone tapping a rhythm on a hand drum. Serenity tried to not fall asleep during the performance, but she did settle for laying her head on Chase’s shoulder. 

 

“What the heck is she wearing?” Allie whispered in her ear. 

 

“Its traditional Chinese attire.” Serenity whispered back to her. Allie gave her a look as they turned back to look at the performance in front of them. Serenity looked to the side to John, her father and John’s date. John’s date looked thoroughly interested in what was going on, while John looked mad (most likely at her father) and Sherlock was thinking. 

 

“Don’t worry about them.” Chase said softly in her ear, then proceeding to go and kiss her temple softly as well. Serenity smiled as she turned her attention back to the circus, which now featured an old crossbow on a stand. “Its an escapology act. The crossbow is in a string, and the warrior has to escape before it fires.” he said to her.

 

“Extra points on your test for you, Evans.” Brown said to Chase. Serenity giggled lightly as she looked up at Chase.

 

“I like it when you talk smart.” she said to him.

 

“You’re not the only smart one.” he said back to her. The two turned back to the crossbow to watch the act. The warrior was now in chains while the sand was pouring out of the bag and into bowl.

 

“When the bowl touches the floor…” Allie started, then making a hand gesture as to stab herself in the heart. Serenity nodded as Allie’s expression on her face turned from curious to horrified. 

 

“Oh my goodness.” Alex commented from behind. Serenity rolled her eyes at most of them, knowing that the man would get out of his chains in time. If somebody were actually to die, the students wouldn’t be allowed in. As the warrior was running out of time, Serenity felt Chase put a tighter grip around her as if to protect her. 

 

“You’re all a bunch of wimps.” Jason said from the side of Chase, making him have to hold in a chuckle as the warrior got out of his chains in time, just seconds before the arrow went into the wooden backboard. Serenity jumped and possibly squealed a bit when the arrow went into the board, making Chase and Jason laugh.

 

“I hate you both.” she mumbled as the crowd applauded the warriors act. 

 

“Ladies and gentlemen, from the distant moonlight shores of the Yangtze River, we present for your pleasure the deadly Chinese bird-spider.”  the Opera Singer lady said. As she walked away, an acrobat descended fro the ceiling and started doing tricks. Serenity glanced to the side and saw her father sneaking backstage, automatically making her go tense.

 

“Whats wrong?” Chase asked her immediately after, following her gaze over to were John and his date stood. “Maybe he left?”

 

“He snuck backstage. I saw him.” she said to him. Chase attempted to say things to Serenity to comfort her and make her feel better, but her mind was elsewhere, concerned for the father that was never concerned for her. Looking closely she could see the curtains moving in one particular place repeatedly, then suddenly Sherlock was pushed backwards through the curtain, the warrior coming after him. John ran after him straight away, his date following. 

 

“Alright, everybody out!” Brown shouted at them. Chase pulled Serenity to go with him but she escaped. “Holmes!”  he shouted once more at Serenity who started running. The warrior’s sword was raised well above his head to go for Sherlock when Serenity found a wooden pole on the side of the stage and slammed it over the head of the warrior. The warrior cried out in pain upon feeling the blow, and before he could do anything else, Serenity took him out once more in the same place, the warrior falling to the ground and collapsing. 

 

“Serenity, come on.” John said, exhausted and out of breath.

 

“But dad…” 

 

“He’ll be fine, lets get you out of here and back with your school.” John continued, taking Serenity by the arm with his date following as they ran out, Serenity still trying to make sure her father gets up. Luckily enough Sherlock got up and ran towards them, and ahead. 

 

“Come on! Lets go!” he shouted, taking Serenity’s arm as they raced towards the exit. New Scotland Yard was already there and racing in to investigate as Sherlock pulled his daughter to the side. “What the hell is wrong with you?!” he shouted. 

 

“Sherlock she was trying to…” John started to try to knock some sense into Sherlock. Serenity knew what was coming to her now, he was clearly angry with her. 

 

“She almost got herself killed is what she did! What the hell were you thinking?!” he kept shouting at Serenity. 

 

“He was going to kill you! If it hadn’t been for me you would be dead!” She shouted back at him. Sherlock went silent for a moment before opening his mouth to try to speak once more, but Serenity beat him to it and continued, “If I lose you, then I have nothing. But I guess this goes to show how much you actually care if you live or die or what happens to me.” With that Serenity broke free of her fathers restraint and ran away from the group and the circus building. She ran and didn’t know where she was going really, she just knew that she was running to get away from her father.  

 

Serenity slowed down running and paused on the side of the street. She looked around her and saw no one, deciding it was a good time to sit down and catch her breath. Serenity was just about to get back up to go to Allie’s house to sleep in for the night, when a back was put over her head and she was hit over the back of her head and knocked out.


	6. The Blind Banker: Part Three

When Serenity came back to consciousness, she was tied up to a chair with a rag tied around her mouth. She could hardly see anything around her, but what she could see were the outlines of about three people. She wiggled in her seat a little to see how tightly she was bound up, just to get a blow to the back of her head. She cried out in pain as much as she could with her mouth ragged up. 

 

“Don’t move!” a voice barked behind her. A crack sound was made behind her, making Serenity wince in fear. 

 

“She is not to be harmed! Only her father shall be harmed in this mission!” a female voice, coming out of the light to face Serenity. She saw then that it was the Opera Singer from the circus, smiling down at her with evil lurking in her eyes. “Your father has been a burden to a friend of ours and has something we want. With you here, he shall certainly come to retrieve you allowing us to complete our mission. Don’t you worry darling, you’ll have the front row seat to this act.”

 

“He has been spotted outside of his home.” a male voice said. Serenity’s heart started to beat faster hearing the news of her father leaving the house. She wasn’t sure if he was going to come looking for her or not - he was mad at her and when he gets mad at her he usually does not talk to her. The pit in her stomach started to get bigger upon realizing that he may not come looking for her.

 

“Very good. Now we shall wait. Prepare the catapult until then.” the Opera Singer said. Serenity shut her eyes tightly and held back tears. They were going to preform an escape act on her, except she would not be escaping. Serenity wept and wished that her mother were there for her, to hold her and tell her that everything was going to be alright. Serenity closed her eyes and hoped that it would all be over soon. 

 

———

 

Back at Baker Street, Sherlock and John were sitting around the dinner table at Baker Street frantically trying to piece together anything that they would to find Serenity. Upon walking back from the circus, Sherlock, John and Sarah found Serenity’s bag laying on the ground with her cellphone and the rest of her belongings inside of her. Ever since then the two men have been struggling to figure out what happened to the teenager. Sherlock knew she was taken and John didn’t want to admit that she was taken. John had grown fond of the teenager because she changed Sherlock as of late. Sherlock was sitting silently as John was frantically pacing now. 

 

“How can you just sit there while your bloody daughter is god-knows-where?!” John said to Sherlock, who was sitting motionless still at the table. “Unbelievable.” John said to him. 

 

“If she had not - ” Sherlock started, before John cut him off. 

 

“Sherlock, your sixteen year old daughter saved your life earlier today from the Chinese mafia, and now she is missing and you are still hooked on the fact that she didn’t listen to you? She’s a bloody teenager Sherlock she isn’t going to listen! She saved you because you are all she has left in this world! Shouldn’t you be bloody concerned for her?!” John ranted to his flatmate loudly. 

 

“Of course I am concerned. My only daughter is somewhere in London with the Chinese who have been killing people all over the city. I need to find her because _she_ is all _I_ have.” Sherlock said to him simply, letting his sentiment show for a fraction of a second. John held back a smile on his face; he saw that Sherlock did care for Serenity after all. “John… look at this!” John hurried over next to Sherlock. 

 

“Blimey… Soo Lin started to crack the code.” John said to him. “NINE MILL? Nine million quid? For what?” he asked as Sherlock was already up and getting his coat to leave. “Where are you going?”

 

“To the museum! Soo Lin was cracking the code while we were running around - it must be on her desk still. We could have been staring right at it!” Sherlock said. John grabbed his coat and ran after him outside, almost running into two German tourists.

 

“Sherlock! We have no idea what sort of book we are looking for and if that we do find it we have no idea what we need to look for in order to crack it!” John complained as he followed the detective outside. John just about knocked into Sherlock when he found him, standing still in the middle of the sidewalk now. 

 

“A book everybody would have…” Sherlock started. He turned suddenly back to the German tourists, walked over to them, and took a book from the man. They were shouting German at him but ended up giving up and walking away. 

 

“Bloody hell Sherlock…” John said angrily. Sherlock ignored him as he figured out the rest of the puzzle in his mind, leaving John standing there confused as to what to do about this situation. 

 

“Nine mill for jade pin dragon den black… tramway!” Sherlock said, ahead of him. “They’re underground John. They’re using the book from the London A-Z. We have to move now!” he said. John sighed heavily as he ran after his friend in hope that they got to Serenity in time. 

 

—-

 

It was taking far to long for Serenity. She opened her eyes and looked around her. The Opera Singer was still pacing in front of her, the catapult was set up, but her father was no where to be found. She sighed heavily. 

 

“Death will come soon enough my child.” The opera singer said. Serenity rolled her eyes at the woman as men started to surround the Opera Singer. She smiled as they walked away. “Clever man. He has figured it out. He will be here shortly.” Serenity heard footsteps coming from behind her and then the sound of a man falling. 

 

“This is a clever little hiding spot you have here. Underground. How clever.” Serenity let out a sigh of relief upon hearing her father’s voice. He had come to save her. The Opera Singer looked at the man behind the catapult and nodded, the man cutting the bag of sand open to start the act. 

 

“I would come out if i were you Mr. Holmes. She may not have much time left.” the Opera Singer told him. There were no sounds of footsteps coming out from behind her, making Serenity tense up as she just watched the bowl of sand get more and more filled and closer to the ground. She prayed for a miracle and closed her eyes. 

 

Suddenly she felt someone pulling at the bonds on her wrists to try to get her untied. She snapped her eyes open and saw her father nearly being strangled by a Chinese Warrior. The person behind her who ended up being John was kicked out of the way with Serenity’s bonds only half untied, but not enough for her to try to get herself out. Serenity looks back to the crossbow and sees that its almost at the bottom when she feels a tug on her chair.

 

“Sherlock!” John shouted across the room, trying to get the attention of the consulting detective before its so late. Serenity looked to her father, who finally is out of the grasp of the warrior and runs across the tunnel to push Serenity and her chair out of the way just before the arrow fired into the stomach of another warrior. It was silent for a moment before Serenity realized that they were the only people around. John and Sherlock jumped up and sat Serenity’s chair up and untied the rest of her bonds and took the rag out of her mouth. She gasped for breath as she nearly collapsed in her father’s arms. 

 

“Thank god you’re okay.” He said to her quietly as he held onto her protectively. “It’s all alright. You’re going to be okay. You’re okay Serenity.” the two of them stood like that for a few moments, while John looked on at them and smiled. 

 

“I didn’t know if you would come for me or not.” Serenity said while crying. “I wasn’t sure if I mattered anymore.” she continued. Sherlock placed a soft kiss on his daughter’s forehead in reassurance.

 

“Of course you matter to me. Don’t be foolish.” Sherlock said to her, standing her up. “John, call Scotland Yard and bring them here. Tell them what’s happened. I need to get her home.” he said to John. John was surprised at his friend being a father figure and the stand her was taking, but he accepted it. 

 

“Sure. Right away.” John said to Sherlock. All three walked out together but Sherlock and Serenity took a cab back to Baker Street silently. Once there. Serenity went into her room and changed into some pajamas and went under the covers in her bed. She had messages from Chase, Allie and the rest of her friends, but she chose to ignore them for the time being and just sat quietly by herself. A knock on the door shook her out of her daydream state, to see that her father was at the doorway of her bedroom. He walked in and sat on the edge of her bed next to her, placing a cup of tea on the nightstand in the process. 

 

“Three sugars and no milk. Just the way you like it.” he said to her. Serenity smiled a little as she leaned over and started to drink it. “Has anyone ever told you about the day you were born?” he asked her. She shook her head no. 

 

“Mom always said it was the best day of her life.” Serenity responded. 

 

“Because it was the best day of her life, as it was mine as well.” Sherlock said, looking down at his daughter. She looked so much like him and he wished that she looked more like Aubrey. “Well I had just completed a case and was at the Yard when your mother called me. She said I needed to hurry home straightaway, but didn’t tell me why. That i could figure out for myself. So I hurried home and she was already packed up to go; her overnight bag, my overnight bag, and your clothes to come home in as well as the baby carrier. We hadn’t found out what sex you were, we wanted to be surprised. But i had figured it out and had packed the outfit for you special because I knew you were a girl.”

 

“Of course you knew.” Serenity said. Sherlock ignored her and kept going.

 

“Your mother wanted you out but you were in no rush to actually come into the world. She was in labor for almost 18 hours before you finally decided to come out. When you were born the Doctor told us ‘Its a girl’ and your mother cried because she was so happy, and I did too. Even though I knew, I cried. Because that single moment when I saw you for the first time, I knew that you were going to be amazing, beautiful, and the best. And that is what you are, Serenity. I may be a horrible father, the biggest arsehole on the planet, but I do love you and will try anything to keep you safe.” he said to her. Serenity didn’t know what to say to her father’s confession. She was surprised and flattered and had no words. The only thing she could do was hug him, and that’s what she did. 

 

“Love you dad.” she said to him. He kissed her forehead softly once more. 

 

“As do I. Now finish your tea and get some sleep, you need rest and have school tomorrow morning.” he said to her as he got up. Serenity did just that, and for the first time in a while, went to bed with a smile on her face. 


End file.
